Various global or local communication networks (the Internet, the World Wide Web, local area networks and the like) offer a user a vast amount of information. The information includes a multitude of contextual topics, such as but not limited to, news and current affairs, maps, company information, financial information and resources, traffic information, games and entertainment related information. Users use a variety of client devices (desktop, laptop, notebook, smartphone, tablets and the like) to gain access to rich content (like images, audio, video, animation, and other multimedia content from such networks).
In order to access a web resource, a user typically utilizes a browser application. With reference to FIG. 1, a screen shot 102 depicts a browser application 104 generally implemented according to the known state of the art. The browser application 104 can be executed on most known electronic devices (laptops, desktops, smartphones, pads and the like). The depicted screen shot 102 illustrated the browser application 104, which browser application 104 is implemented as a Mozilla Firefox browser. However, those in the art will appreciate numerous other known types of browser applications 104, such as a Google™ Chrome™, a Yandex™ browser, as well as a number of additional commercial or proprietary browsers.
Irrespective of how the browser application 104 is implemented, the browser application 104, typically, has a command interface 106 and a browsing interface 108. Generally speaking, a given user can access a resource on the communication network by two principle means. The given user can access a particular resource directly, either by typing an address of the resource (typically an URL or Universal Resource Locator) into the command interface 106 or by clicking a link in an e-mail or in another web resource (which action will in a sense “copy and paste” the URL associated with the link into the command interface 106).
Alternatively, the given user may conduct a search using a search engine to locate a resource of interest. The latter is particularly suitable in those circumstances, where the given user knows a topic of interest, but does not know the exact address of the resource she is interested in. The search engine typically returns a Search Engine Results Page (SERP) containing links to one or more web resources that are responsive to the user query. Again, upon user clicking one or more links provided within the SERP, the user can open the required web resource.
Hence, the purpose of the command interface 106 is to allow the user to type or copy-and-paste a Unified Resource Locator (URL) or, simply, an address associated with the web resource the user is looking for. The purpose of the browsing interface 108 is to show the web resource that is hosted at the address, which URL is entered into the command interface 106.
Within the modern browser applications 104, the command interface 106 is typically implemented as an “omnibox” field—the one incorporating functionality of the field for entering URLs and the field for entering search queries for the search engine associated with the browser application 104 to search. In other words, within such prior art implementations, the user can use the command interface 106 for both entering search queries and URLs. The browsing interface 108 is, therefore, can be for displaying to the user either (i) a web resource associated with the URL entered into the command interface 106 or (ii) a search results page (SERP) generated in response to the search query entered in the command interface 106.
Now, as a brief description of the browser application 104, the browser application 104 includes a browser command buttons panel 112, the browser command buttons panel 112 including a number of conventionally known fields, such as “File”, “Edit”, “View”, “History”, “Bookmarks”, “Tools”, “Help”. The browser application 104 includes a browser control buttons panel 111, which browser control buttons panel 111 includes the well-known button for minimizing the browser screen, maximizing the browser screen and closing the browser screen (all not numbered).
The browser application 104 also includes a conventionally-known back button 116, the back button 116 for allowing the user to go back to one or more of the previously viewed web resources. The browser application 104 also includes a forward button 118 (greyed out) for going “forward” after the back button 116 has been potentially used. The browser application 104 contains a number of additional buttons 120, such as a reload button, a close button and a “home” button (all not numbered) conventionally known to those of skill in the art.
There is also provided an area 122 for one or more tabs of the browsed pages. It is typical for the user to multi-task when browsing the various web resources using the browser application 104. For example, a given user may have multiple web resources “opened” at the same time. This may be the case when the user is simultaneously “browsing” several resources. This may also happen when the user has browsed one or more resources and decided to “keep” it in the browser application 104 to refer to them later.
To address this situation, the user may open several instances of the browser application 104, each instance showing therein a different web resource (so-called, browsing by window). Alternatively, the user may open several “tabs” in a single instance of the browser application 104, each tab showing therein a different web resource (so-called, browsing by tabs). The graphical indication of each opened tab will appear in the area 122. The user can then switch between the various opened web resources by either selecting an appropriate window (i.e. instance of the browser application 104) or by selecting an appropriate tab within the single instance of the browser application 104. Needless to say, the two methods can be mixed and matched by the given user in a single browsing session.
With reference to FIG. 2, there is depicted a screen shot 200, the screen shot 200 depicting the browser application 104 with fifteen instances of tabs 202 opened therein. The fifteen instances of tabs 202 are representative of the fifteen web resources currently being browsed by the user. Within the depicted illustration, fourteen out of the fifteen web resources currently being browsed are the various articles on the Wikipedia web resource, each of the articles being associated with a dedicated one of the fifteen instances of tabs 202.